Three epic poems by Hesiod, the 'other' great epic poet of ancient Greece (along with Homer, his near-contemporary). Constituting some of the earliest known works of literature in European history, the poems of Hesiod describe the creation of the cosmos, the history of the gods, the life & concerns of a simple shepherd in rural Greece, and agricultural knowledge and techniques, and all, as scholar Robert Lamberton wrote, in a voice that is "idiosyncratic, ironic, self-conscious…appropriating proverbial wisdom…and transforming it into a discourse that is as much an account of poetry as it is an account of the world." [Robert Lamberton, Hesiod, Yale Univ. Press]
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Hesiod, the father of Greek didactic poetry, probably flourished during the 8th century BC. Hesiod's earliest poem, the famous Works and Days, and according to Boeotian testimony the only genuine one, embodies the experiences of his daily life and work, and, interwoven with episodes of fable, allegory, and personal history, forms a sort of Boeotian shepherd's calendar. The other poem attributed to Hesiod or his school which has come down in great part to modern times is The Theogony, a work of grander scope, inspired alike by older traditions and abundant local associations. It is an attempt to work into system, as none had essayed to do before, the floating legends of the gods and goddesses and their offspring. Source: NNDB http://www.nndb.com/people/837/000087...
